A Sermon on the Occasion of the Death of the Hon. John Quincy Adams, Preached at the John Street ...

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M g ' - ''^^

SERMON

ON THE

OCCASION OF THE DEATH OF

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.

BY REV. STEDMAN W*- HANKS.

LOWELL:

PUBLISHED BY W. H. WALDRON.

1848.
M. — " ^JL

^

.S^TVQf.^

'Ma?X<^'

S E E M N

ON THX

OCCASION OF THE DEATH

OF THX

HON. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS,

PREACHED AT THK

JOHN STREET CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH,

IN LOWELL, MARCH 5, 1848.

BY REV. STEDMAN W. HANKS,

LOWELL:

PUBLISHED BY W. H. WALDRON.

184S.

E

btc^

LOWELL, MARCH, 19, 1848.
Rev. S. W. Hahks,

Dear Sir: —

In common with other members of the John Street

Society, we the ondeiBigned, being desirous of perusing the Sermon preach-

ed by yon, on the occasion of the death of the Hon. J. Q. Adams, would

respectfully request a copy for publication.

HOMER BARTLETT,
JEFFERSON BANCROFT,
ROYAL SOUTHWICK,
NATHAN ALLEN,
SELWIN BANCROFT,
DANIEL HOLT,
THOMAS WENTWORTH,
SAMUEL KIDDER, jr.,
A. L. BROOKS,
GEORGE MANSFIELD,

f C. L. KNAPP,
OTIS L. ALLEN,
S. McLA NATHAN,
J. J. JUDKINS,
JOSIAH THOMPSON,
W. S. MERRILL,
ASA WETHERBEE,
JOHN TRIPP,
JESSE STILES,
JAMES M. PEABODT.

B. B. PEKHALLOW, PRINTER,

Wyman's Exchange.

/6^//j-V7- /9d)

SERMON.

And hezekiah slept with his fathers, avd thkt buried him ih

THE CHIEFEST OF THE SEPULCHRES OF THE SONS OF DANIEL : AND
ALL JUDAH, AND THE INHABITANTS OF JERUSALEM DID HIM HONOR

AT HIS DEATH. — 2 CkronicleSf XQUcU I 3.

The death of a great and good ruler is an
eventful occurrence. It often forms an era in the
history of nations. Though there is a limited sense
in which men are equal, it is by no means true that
they are equal in their capacities for transacting the
business of government. God has given but few
truly great and good rulers to the world, and when
they die a loss is sustained which cannot easi'y be
repaired. It is not strange, then, that we find so
many records of mourning and lamentation at the
death of those who have occupied high stations in
society, and whose influence has been on the side
of virtue, and whose example and precepts have not
been inconsistent with each other. When Samuel
the prophet and judge in Israel died, his death was
deplored as a national loss. ^^ All the Israelites were
gathered together, and lamented him, and buried him
in bis house at Ramah."

4

When Abner died king David " lifted up his
voice and wept, and all the people wept at the grave
of Abner. And the king said unto his servants,
know ye not that there is a prince and a great man
fallen this day, in Israel." When Josiah died they
^< buried him in the sepulchre of his fathers, and all
Judah and Jerusalem mourned.^^

That national mourning on account of the loss
of great and good rulers is appropriate, will appear,
if we consider.

First, their extreme scarcity. Many men have
been clothed with authority, in different ages and
countries, and having made their impress upon the
world, have passed away. Pharaohs, Jeroboams,
Alexanders and Bonapartes, have been more nu-
merous than Josephs, Nehemiahs, Cromwells, and
Washingtons. If we look upon the great men of the
present day, and especially upon those who occupy
the high places of the nations, we are not able to
find many who through evil and good report will
stand fast for the right.

In the midst of surrounding corruption it is
extremely hard for a good man to rise by the suf-
frages of the people, to a high place of influence.
The wcMrld loves its own, and he that represents its
wickedness is not likely on that account to lose its
smiles or its patronage. As the world is, great and
good men will not be numerous among its rulers, and

the loss of such men will continue to be great in
proportion to their fewness.

The removal of great and good men from high
stations of influence is often a great calamity to
a nation. The death of Joshua and the elders that
outlived him, was followed by a series of calamities,
from which the nation did not recover for many years.
The people fell into licentiousness, anarchy, and con-
fusion. A barrier against wicked influences was taken
away, and the floods of ungodliness swept over the
people until David was raised up to turn back the
current. Solomon's death was the occasion of the
disruption of the kingdom of Israel, and of a most
horrible civil war. The death of Pitt formed an era
in the history of England. Great and good men
among the councils and in the cabinets of nations,
are the pillars that uphold and give stability to the
social compact. When the Sampson of wickedness
would pull down a good government, and over-
whelm a people in anarchy and confusion, his wisest
policy is to take hold of the pillars and remove
them, and when God would send judgments upon a
people he sometimes " withers their strong rods,'' and
** gives them children to be their princes, and babes
to rule over them."

Wisdom is always better than weapons of war,
and the real strength of a nation lies in the heads
and hearts of those who direct its affairs. Neither

riches, nor refinement, nor extensive territory, makes
a nation strong. The strength of a nation is in the
wisdom of its great men, and the virtue of its people.
If it has not thesCj it is weak, whatever else it may
possess.

The Grecians owe their power mainly to the
great men which that nation produced. They were
not rich, and their country was but an insignificant
peninsula, which we might sink in some of our large
lakes ; but their great men have conferred upon them
lasting honors ; and though their country has fallen
out from the catalogue of nations, the names of their
mighty men are remembered, and their writings are
studied, throughout the civilized world.

Great and good men, by their example as well
as by their wisdom, confer blessings upon a nation.
A wicked man in a high station gives respectability
to the particular vices to which he is addicted.
A drunken statesman is a perpetual advocate of in-
temperance. A profane ruler imparts a kind of
respectability to profanity, and by his example leads
others to the same demoralizing course. Every form
of vice is dignified in a measure by having men in
high places to practise it. On the other hand vice is
discouraged and virtue strengthened, by the example
of those whose conduct is virtuous. If horse-racing,
gambling, sabbath-breaking, duelling, and slave-trad-
ing, are carried on by men who are the chosen rulers

of the country, the people will go and do likewise.
A vicious man in the capitol fK)isons the fountains
of influence as no other man can do. He has the
power of weakening more or less the nation's moral
energies. His position is such that he can lay his
hands upon the very vitals of the country. Neither
talents nor eloquence can counteract the influence
of vicious example. Example is more powerfiil than
precept, in high stations as well as in low. Example
has a still small voice, which goes to the heart and
leaves its impression there ; and no man's good ex-
ample can lose its influence, as no man's bad example
can fail to make its appropriate impression.

If what we have said be true, our nation has
occasion to mourn the death of the great and good
man who has just been laid in his grave, having died
after fifty years honorable service in his country. To
have given birth to such a man as John Quincy
Adams is an honor to our nation. He was intel-
lectually and morally great. His fame is not tar-
nished by the immoralities of his life. He has made
no war upon the moral forces of his country, and
none of his blood runs in the veins of his degraded
and oppressed fellow beings who wear the chains
of bondage. He has not, like some others, written
and spoken about " popular rights," while practising
popular wrongs. Though the thunders of his elo-
quence have often been heard, none of his bolts have

8

been aimed at the sentinels who have been set to
guard the morals of the nation. The sabbath, the
sanctuary, and the bible, have been respected by him ;
and amid the numerous cares that came upon him, he
did not forget that future state of being into vi^hich
he has now passed.

Without attempting an analysis of his character,
or touching upon the opinions which he maintained
as the member of a political party, let us direct our
attention to several considerations which entitle Mr.
Adams to a place upon the roll of this world's great
and good rulers.

Though birth, blood, and favorable circumstances
in early life, do not of themselves make men great
or good, they are sometimes important helps. Mr.
Adams was of honorable descent. He belonged to
the true nobility. No king or noble lord could boast
of more honorable parentage. His father developed
nobility and royalty out of himself , by his noble deeds
in assisting to lay the foundations of this great re-
public. He " knighted '' himself when he signed the
declaration of independence, and when the crusaders
against tyranny took the field he was among "the
bravest of the brave.'' " Mounted upon the great
idea " of human rights, he spurred forward into the
midst of dangers, and called on others to follow.
Nor did he retreat until tyranny was confronted and
driven back, and liberty proclaimed through the land.

Mr. Adams' mother was also a remarkable
Woman. She was " a help-meet " for the man who
moved so conspicuously in the stormy scenes of the
revolution. Her writings bear the impress of a mind
of high order. The blooming titles of many queens
and princes are eclipsed by the noble Christian words
and deeds of the mother of the great statesman who
has just bid adieu to earth. The son was born and
nurtured amid the exciting scenes which preceded and
accompanied the struggle of our nation for liberty.
He was but a lad when our national independence
was declared^ His cradle was rocked by the hands
which helped to rock the cradle of our liberty. By
the roar of cannon and the flowing of blood, he was
taught how highly liberty was valued by those who
took the field for the defence of their rights. The
best facilities were afforded him for acquiring an
education, and the circumstances in which he was
placed in early life, were all greatly in his favor. He
was baptised in infancy, and by a mother's lips was
taught the value of the bible, and of those influences
which come from the institutions of religion. Hear
the language of that Christian mother, as in her
letters she speaks to her son then about ten years
of age.

^* Great learning and superior abilities will be of little avail, unless
virtue, honor, truth and integrity are added to them. Remember that you
are accountable to your Maker for all your words and your actions. Dear
as you are to me, I had rather you would have perished in that ooean you

2

10

have crossed^ or that UDtimely death had cropped your infant years,. than
to see you an immoral profligate, or graceless child. Your grandfather,
a plain clergyman, left you a legacy more valuable than gold or silver -^
his blessing and prayer that you might become a useful citizen, a guardian
of the laws, of the liberty, and religion of your country. May this be
treasured up in your memory. Practice upon it, and believe me you will
find it a treasure that moth and rust cannot corrupt."

But, though Mr. Adams' parentage, and the
circumstances of his early education^ were favorable
to th^ development of an interesting character, they
were not the foundation upon which his character
was built. God gave him a mind of great natural
capacity. He possessed strength and largeness of
understanding. He could " see at a distance." By
a kind of intuition, he could look through what was
dark to others. He had what may be termed a
genius for government, — a peculiar turn of mind,
fitting him to see results in their causes. He could
" smell the battle afar oflf," and see an approaching
foe before " the sound of the trumpets,, or the thunder
of the captains and the shouting " was heard.

By diligence, and the most rigid habits of study,
his natural capacities were cultivated to such an ex-
tent that his mind seemed to grasp and illuminate
every sulgect to which his attention was directed*
No man could unravel false and subtle arguments with
more power. By long and diligent study of the
science of human government, and by careful obser-
vation of human nature as developed in the actions
of men, he attained a wisdom which enabled him to

11

kK)k far into the ftrture, and to avert evils by averting
their causes. The history of the nations of the earth,
both ancient and modern, was familiar to him, and
this knowledge shed a light in his path, and enabled
him to act intelligibly in matters which were perplex-
ing to others. Had his councils been heard, we
should have been saved from many blots which now
stain our character as a nation.

Magnanimity and largeness of heart were strik-
ing characteristics of the man of whom we speak.
He djd not find his way to office by any of those
pettj tricks by which small men are raised to great
places. He was no political quack, around whose
quick moving carriage clouds of dust arose, as decla-
rations that great business was on hand, and whose
merits had to be proclaimed by his own lips. In his
course through life there was no pushing, or thrusting,
or elbowing others aside. The little arts which raise
little men, were never resorted to. He took the
lowest seat, until be distinctly heard the call,—
"friend, go up higher," — and when he ascended it
was with the modesty which none but a great man
is apt to show. His magnanimity gave him at all
times a commanding influence. He could not be
bribed, and the fear of man was not in him. He
would not fight a duel because he deemed it wrong,
but a hundred duellists <;ould not stop him from
speaking, in his place, what his sense of duty impelled

m

12

him to. Bowie-knives, and violent gestures, and
alarming threats, excited no other feeling than that
of contempt, for men so weak as to resort to such
carnal weapons, when great questions were under
discussion.

He was a man of true decision of character. It
has been objected to Mr. Adams, that he worked
with and against all parties, — that at one time he
was against the whole of Texas, and at another time
for the whole of Mexico. Mr. Adams' decision
of character was that of a wise man, pursuing the
object which he had in view by wise means. ^ He
did not sail his ship in one direction, irrespective
of winds and regardless of icebergs. He tacked
when by doing so he could on the whole make the
most progress. His spy-glass was one which common
men could not use. They needed his eyes in order
to see what he saw. Where they saw only fog and
clouds, he could see breakers and mountains. Where
they could see nothing, he could see pirates putting
themselves in readiness to board and plunder what-
ever promised spoil. Human liberty was the great
end which Mr. Adams had in view. Toward this he
moved not unmindjul of obstacles. He changed his
course of action without changing his principles. He
was stationary while he seemed to be moving. Like
the sun he seemed to rise and go down, when his
change was only apparent , and not real. Things

13

around him were in a rotary condition, and shorts
sighted men who were themselves continually " carried
about," looked upon him ' as the revolving object,
while they were really so. When Mr. Adams
opposed the annexation of Texas, he did it with the
hope that slavery would be prevented from spreading
over that fair land. But when Texas was annexed^
a new phase of things presented itself. A war with
Mexico was the result, and the conquest of the whole
country seemed highly probable. What now shall be
done? Mexico but a few years ago had abolished
slavery, and the spirit of freedom was among the
people. Let us have the whole of Mexico, says
Mr. Adams. If the country wants territory, let us
not cut oflF a little piece of Mexico, which slavery
can manage, and give that up to the South : Let us
have the whole of Mexico^ including that part where
the spirit of liberty exists, and then let both countries
united in one, combine their influence against slavery.
If the Boa-Constrictor will swallow somethings let it
swallow an object that will be hard to digest, and
which will put it into a state of stupefaction, and
in the mean time let the friends of liberty convert
it into an animal, bristling with arrows and barbed
irons.

When the end of the beginning which our coun-
try has made in the affair of Mexico, shall be disclosed,
it may appear that Mr. Adams' course was altogether

14

consistent, and what men have called hypocrisy, history
inay set down as a splendid illustration of true deci-
sion of character. Mr. Adams knew that the South,
in its movements, had an eye to the ^^king row^^ and
like a wise man, he moved accordingly.

Firmness in the defence of principles which he
considered rights was another characteristic of the
great man of whom we speak. The vote of the
Legislature of his own State, did not lead him to any
change of opinions or any swerving from the course
which he thought was right. He could give up his
seat in Congress, but he could not abandon any
of his principles. In the history of his life we have
many illustrations of his firmness, but perhaps none
is more conspicuous than that which occurred in his
old age, when he attempted the defence of the right
of petition, in the House of Representatives, at Wash-
ington. The subject of slavery was agitating the
whole country, and its abolishment in the District
of Columbia, was respectfully petitioned for by numer-
ous citizens of the Northern States. The presentation
of these petitions stirred up the fury of the South.
Howlings came up from what was denominated our
" national bear garden," such as had not been heard
for years. A furious political tempest came on. In
the midst of the storm, Mr. Adams stood almost alone,
while "hail stones and coals of fire" were poured
down upon the right of petition, and with it upon

15

him as the defender of this right. At the roar of the
storm, small politicians slunk away into their holes,
and remained, until the thunders begun to die away.
Amid scorn and taunts from the North and the South,
he stood fast for his position. Though violence was
threatened, and fears were entertained that blood
would be shed upon the floor of the capitol, he
faltered not. For more than three days, amidst the
most tempestuous debate that ever occurred in our
national capitol, he maintained his ground against the
most fearful odds.

In this famous contest, Mr. Adams' magazine
of intellectual powder and ball was found to hold out
to the last, and his good sword was seen hewing down
his assailants, upon the right and the left. He
sounded no parley after the battle was fairly com-
menced* By the roaring of his thunder and the
order of his movements, as well as by the shock
of his onsets, it was at length understood that an
enemy was in the field, not easily to be overcome.
The right to petition Congress on the sulgect of
Slavery, was secured* A victory was achieved more
glorious than that of Buena Vista or Vera Cru^.
When the battles of Generals Taylor and Scott are
forgotten, and the halo of glory which now gathers
around the warriors who have led their armed hosts
to the field of blood, shall have passed away, the
battle of February, 1842, in the House of Represent

16

tativeS) when John Quincy Adams " crossed s words"
with the most distinguished men of the country, and
in his old age vanquished his assailants, will be
remembered, and " the old man eloquent " will be
revered and honored as an unflinching friend of the
right ; one who amidst obloquy and scorn could
maintain his place, while all around him •— the irreso-*
lute and the faint-hearted -^ were cowering, and
counting ** prudence the better part of valor.''

Another characteristic of Mr. Adams was han^
esty. He played no games for the sake of securing
office. At various times in his history, a political
manceuvre would for the time being, have secured to
him both honor and emolument. He would have
nothing that did not come to him by fair means*
The highest offices in the gift of the people weighed
in the balance with honesty, were lighter than
vanity.

Mr. Adams was a true philanthropist He look-
ed upon man everywhere as his brother. He stood
ready to lend his influence to every enterprise which
had in view the elevation and happiness of mankind.
In his conduct toward the Amistad captives, we have
an illustration of his philanthropy. With no prospect
of reward, he came forward to the aid of those un-
happy sons of Africa, who were thrown upon our
shores, and here exposed to dangers more frightful
than the perils of the ocean when stormy winds are

17

abroad. He defended them against combined influ-
ences which would have overborne almost any other
man. To this he was prompted by his love of man,
and not his love of money. The rights of his fellow
beings were likely to be invaded, and that fact was
reason enough why he should come forward for their
defence.

For those in the prison-house of bondage, he did
what he could, and though he differed materially from
many in his views of what was the best way for
benefitting permanently his fellow beings in bonds, he
was ready to do what could constitutionally and
prudently be done for the emancipation of the bond-
man. He lived when our federal compact was formed,
He well understood the diflSculty of uniting indepen-
dent States in the common defence of the country.
The roar of British cannon, and the blood of the
revolutionary battle fields, he had not forgotten. By
the federal compact the country was bound together
for the defence of rights never before enjoyed by man.
Upon the declaration of independence stood the name
of his venerable father, who with the well known
words " sink or swim, survive or perish, I put my
heart and hand to this instrument," wrote unfalter-
ingly his name upon that document which has caused
thrones to rock and tyranny to tremble, while hu-
manity has been taking breath and gaining courage
for yet mightier struggles against oppression. It is

3

16

not strange that he revered the federal compact, and
that his hand was never raised to violate what he
considered its stipulations.

When the right of petition was denied, and
slavery was attempting to stop the mouth of beseech-
ing humanity with gag la/ws^ihe man who reverenced
the constitution showed no respect for powers allied
to do what that constitution did not authorize. Be-
cause it guaranteed to the slave States certain rights,
it did not follow that the free States were preclud-
ed from the right of speaking and remonstrating.
Through the wall which slavery constructed out of
unfair inferences from the constitution, Mr. Adams,
for the love of humanity, made a breach, yea levelled
it as effectually as the walls of Jericho were levelled,
so that now the right of petition is no longer called
in question.

On every subject pertaining to the rights of man,
and to his elevation in the scale of being, Mr. Adams
was ready to exert a favorable influence. He did
not belong to that class of the friends of the people
and of popular rights, who under democratic colors
exercise kingly prerogatives; or to that class who
resist all progress, under the pretence that all im-
'provement fosters pride, and tends to aristocracy.
He did not level downward^ but upward. Whatever
tended to the good of the race, found in him a friend
and advocate. He wanted no easy chair in which to

19

repose, while he looked discouragement and death
upon every project which had in view the comforl:
and improvement of others. With a liberal hand
and a great heart, he helped forward whatever carried
man toward the end for which God created him ; and
he was not careful to enquire whether he rode in a
coach and six, or walked with his pilgrim staff, or
advanced in some other way, provided always it was
the right way, and one the choice of which did not
interfere with the progress ' of others. He . did not
belong to that class who feel called upon to oppose
whatever they cannot aid, nor to that who must be
leaders, or nothing. He could without impatience
see others do what he was not disposed to do himself
and did not impugn the motives of others, in order to
justify his own.

During Mr. Adams' long life, he was one of the
most laborious of men. Rising at five o'clock in the
morning, he lighted his own fire, and commenced his
labors while all around him was silence, and deep
/sleep was administering to many such relief as nature
tired and exhausted in the midnight debauch, was
demanding. He was never known to be idle. He
was struck down while at his work, and well has it
been asked,— ^* Where else could death have found
him but at the post of duty ? "

He was a proverbially punctual man. He wa$
always in his place in time,, unless prevented by sick-

20

ness. His seat in Congress, and in the Sanctuary,
was never empty, when it ought to be filled. He
found his way to the house of God in sunshine and
in storm. During the great snow storm of 1846, he
was one of thirteen found at the Sanctuary, and
during his whole life has example spoken to all half
day and fair day worshippers, as well as to all ne-
glecters of the house of God.

This leads me, finally, to speak of his religious
character. His religious opinions are perhaps not yet
fully understood. Several years ago, under the appre-
hension that infidelity was increasing in New England,
he prepared a lecture on faith, which he delivered in
many places. In that lecture he maintained that to
be a Christian a man must believe in God, in the
bible, in the divinity of the Saviour's mission, and
in a future state of rewards and punishments. In a
late published sermon, it is said that <^ he had not the
mind of a great man,'' and " that he has never been
proved to be generous," and it is added that " he is
said to have been close, and sometimes it has been
hinted that he was mean." The same writer, in
another published sermon says, that Jesus Christ ** was
mistaken on some points," and that " if Christianity
rests on his authority, and that alone, it falls when
the foundation falls, and that stands at the mercy of a
school boy. He also calls Jesus Christ "a mortal
man," and " a feeble brother.^^ He says, also, that

21

" Christ bears Ms own sinsj not another's," and that
" he needed to work out his own salvation, as we
must do." It is nqt strange that a man who could
write such things, could Write other strange things.
It is easy to cast slurs upon a man's character, by
calling his frugality meanness, and stirring up old
party prejudices against him. It requires but little
courage to go into the tomb of a dead man, and call
him hard names.

I am not ambitious to settle the question of Mr.
Adams' religious opinions. That he did not esteem
Christ a ^'feeble brother j^^ who " needed to work out
his own salvation^ as we must do,^^ I am quite sure.
To a clergyman, a few years ago, he used the follow-
ing language : — " I hold in great distrust all my
early opinions on religion. As I advance in life,
I feel more and more distrust of all self-formed
opinions. I throw myself back upon the simple
Word of God. I receive what that teaches. I go
where that leads. I should not, I suppose, be con-
sidered fully orthodox, according to the standard
of the Presbyterian Church; but I am not so far
from them as people generally imagine. I enjoy
the worship of that church ; I am edified by its
ministry."

But we need not search for his religious opinions.
His practises are before the world. He loved the
bible, and read it every day. He studied it in many